NASA conducted a long-duration RS-25 single-engine test yesterday, continuing its seven-part test series to support development and production of engines for future missions of the agency’s SLS rocket.
Operators fired the engine for almost 11 minutes (650 seconds) on the A-1 Test Stand at Stennis Space Center, as it begins production of new engines for use after the first four SLS flights.
Four RS-25 engines, along with a pair of solid rocket boosters, will help power SLS at launch. Engines for the rocket’s first four Artemis program missions to the Moon have already been tested. With the Artemis program, NASA will land the first woman and the first person of color on the Moon and establish sustainable exploration in preparation for missions to Mars. SLS and NASA’s Orion spacecraft, along with the commercial human landing system and the Gateway in orbit around the Moon, are NASA’s backbone for deep space exploration. SLS is the only rocket that can send Orion, astronauts, and supplies to the Moon in a single mission.
